While SFPE
was launched in 1950 as the professional section of the National
Fire Protection Association, probably its most significant growth and
development resulted from the organization of local SFPE Chapters
commencing in 1953. The Pacific Northwest Chapter was
chartered May 12, 1963 as the fifteenth SFPE Chapter. The
chapter application, which was prepared by an ad-hoc organization
committee, listed 18 members and named the following as
provisional officers and executive committee members:.

President:
Kermit E. Gastfield

Vice
President: Carroll E. Burtner

Treasurer:
Walter Nichels

Secretary:
Noel C. Skube

Executive
Committee:

......William E.
Acomb / Warren L. Hallen

By the
second meeting in November 1963, membership had grown to
26. Seventeen members from the Puget Sound area; six from
Portland, OR; two from Richland, WA, and one from Vancouver, B.C.

On November
20, 1981, Chapter Officers Don Hickman and Dick Kirsop
successfully presented the Washington State Board of Professional
Engineering with a proposal to formally recognize Fire Protection
Engineering as a professional discipline within the State and
allow PE licensure in the State of Washington.

The Pacific
Northwest Chapter currently has over 60 members and is one of 51
SFPE chapters in 10 countries. SFPE is a member of the
International Fire Safety Engineering Institute (IFSEI) and the
American Association of Engineering Societies (AAES).